10 Reasons why Dan Goldman is Wrong for NY-10

Congressman Goldman's pro-genocide and anti-working class politics have no place in NY-10

In 2022, after years of bitter partisan battles waged in the State Capitol and courtrooms, triggered by the decennial redrawing of congressional maps, a special master released maps for New York State’s new congressional districts. What ensued next can best be described as electoral chaos. Born out of this chaos was the candidacy of a Federal Prosecutor and an heir to the Levi-Strauss fortune: Daniel Goldman. He emerged as the moderate, corporatist victor in a crowded primary for the newly minted 10th Congressional District of New York, where the progressive vote was split, winning by a 2.6 percentage point margin over former Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou. Since 2022, he’s drawn the ire of progressives in his district for his staunch support of Israel and his corporate ties. In 2026, New Yorkers in NY-10 can vote him out of office, and they should do so without hesitation. Here are ten reasons why Daniel Goldman is wrong for NY-10:

• He is Pro-Genocide: Ever wonder who Daniel Goldman’s top campaign contributor is? In 2023-2024, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was Goldman’s largest backer. They spent $194,230 to support him, and his subservience to them is apparent. In September, Goldman signed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging against the recognition of a Palestinian State. During a virtual town hall earlier that month, when asked whether he’d vote to block military aid to Israel, his chilling disregard for the lives of Palestinians showed, as he reiterated his unequivocal support of sending arms to Israel. At an earlier event, when neighbors pleaded with him to call the genocide in Gaza what it is, a genocide, he replied: “I don’t think it matters.” In a March 2025 town hall, Goldman baselessly accused Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil of expressing “antisemitic and anti-American” rhetoric. Goldman also refused to sign a letter that expressed concerns over the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional detention of Khalil. NY-10 deserves a representative who keeps tax dollars in the district, not one who sends them to a genocidal despot like Benjamin Netanyahu.

• He is in the pocket of private equity and big banks: Ever wonder who Daniel Goldman’s second-highest campaign contributor is? In 2023-2024, it was Blackstone Group, to the tune of $56,800. In a district that is suffering from rampant inaffordability and displacement, politicians representing the area must support working- and middle-class tenants. Blackstone is the enemy of affordability; it buys up large numbers of single-family homes across the country and the world, raising rents and displacing many Americans for the sake of corporate profit. In 2024, Blackstone was ordered to pay $15 million to New Yorkers in rent-stabilized apartments for overcharging them. Goldman’s alliance with Blackstone raises the question: Is he on the side of working New Yorkers, or on the side of their oppressors?

• He wants to drive NYCHA residents out of their homes: Daniel Goldman supports the controversial Rental Assistance Demonstration/Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (RAD/PACT) policies that seek to transfer control of NYCHA properties to private developers. RAD/PACT is a profoundly harmful program for NYCHA residents, many of whom are constituents of NY-10. In fact, Manhattan’s largest public housing development, Bernard Baruch Houses, is located in NY-10. A report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office found that residents in NYCHA’s RAD/PACT developments are evicted at significantly higher rates than those in traditional NYCHA developments. Residents of NY-10’s NYCHA housing deserve a representative in Congress who won’t sell them out; Daniel Goldman wants to see them evicted from their homes.

• He silences community voices: As Chairman of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force, Daniel Goldman routinely dismissed community leaders concerned about issues surrounding a proposed luxury development in Red Hook, a rapidly gentrifying area in Brooklyn. At the most recent meeting of the Task Force, Goldman used his position as chair to rush the committee into a vote, silencing voices that raised valid concerns about the lack of community oversight in the proposal. In the face of pushback from his fellow board members, Goldman repeatedly asserted that “we’re not gonna debate this” before pushing through a final vote on the project. NY-10 deserves a member of Congress who respects democratic processes, ensures that all voices are heard and included, and works with local leaders and community members, unlike Daniel Goldman, who silences those with whom he disagrees, thereby compromising his own constituency.

• He bought his way into Congress: New York is a city where underdogs can become legends, especially in politics. Take Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as an example; she challenged the second most powerful Democrat in the House, Joe Crowley, ran a highly energized grassroots campaign, and won against all odds. More recently, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s meteoric rise from being largely unknown to a national figure demonstrates that New York is indeed a city where hard work and organization can catapult one to the top. Goldman did the opposite. He won by spending his way to the top. He is worth over $200 million, and he spent more than $4 million of his own money on his 2022 campaign. NY-10 is a hardworking corner of the city, home to working and middle-class artists, union laborers, civil servants, and students who know what it’s like to struggle and to persevere in the face of adversity. Most importantly, it’s a vibrant community; neighbors check in on each other, bodega workers know your name and your sandwich order by heart, and hard work is recognized and rewarded. We deserve a politician who earned their way to represent us through dedication and grassroots effort, not one who bought their way in.

• He lacks a mandate for his harmful policies: Daniel Goldman is lucky to be in Congress. Not only did he invest millions of his own money into his 2022 campaign, but he barely won. He secured victory with just 25.9% of the vote, totaling 18,505 votes. Yuh-Line Niou came in second, losing by only 2.3 percentage points, with 23.6% of the vote and 16,826 votes. The only reason Goldman won is because of the reckless hubris of politicians like Mondaire Jones, a former Congressman from Upstate New York, who moved to NY-10 despite never living in NYC, instead of remaining in his district to face his eventual Republican successor, Mike Lawler. If the so-called “progressives” who stayed in the race had dropped out and united behind Niou, Goldman wouldn’t be in Congress. The 2022 primary reveals two key points: first, the 2026 primary against Goldman must be a one-on-one race between him and a progressive, with no chaos or vote splitting. Second, we need to recognize and leverage that Goldman does not have a mandate for his harmful policies; nearly 75% of voters in the 2022 Democratic Primary opposed him. He just got lucky, but luck always runs out.

• He sided with the GOP to betray his Democratic colleague: In November 2023, Goldman voted to censure his fellow Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, for voicing her opposition to the genocide of Palestinians by Israel. The official censure falsely accuses Tlaib of “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.” In actuality, Tlaib sparked outrage from Zionists for using the term, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase that Palestinian advocates have repeatedly expressed is not a call for the ethnic cleansing of Jews, as Goldman falsely claimed, but rather a slogan advocating for equal rights and the end of Israeli apartheid against Palestinians. The truth is, Daniel Goldman is disloyal to his party. He was one of just 22 Democrats to vote alongside all Republicans in favor of censuring Tlaib. Meanwhile, he only had the guts to vote “present” rather than “no” on a measure honoring Charlie Kirk, a man who made a career espousing bigoted rhetoric, such as decrying the Civil Rights Act as a mistake. NY-10 deserves a member of Congress who won’t throw their colleagues under the bus to appease Israel and AIPAC.

• He refuses to endorse Zohran Mamdani: Despite NY-10 voters overwhelmingly supporting Zohran Mamdani, Daniel Goldman joins a list of New York Congressional Democrats who have yet to endorse New York’s Democratic nominee for mayor. Goldman baselessly demanded that he wanted to see “concrete action” from Mamdani to address anti-Semitism. Goldman’s words might not be as full-throatedly Islamophobic as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s lie that Mamdani supports “global jihad,” but make no mistake, refusing to support Mamdani because he isn’t tackling anti-Semitism enough echoes the tired Islamophobic rhetoric being used against him—simply because he is a Muslim who supports Palestinians—and suggests that he is somehow enabling anti-Semitism by amplifying the voices of anti-Zionist, anti-Genocide activists. Jewish New Yorkers are not a monolith; many, including myself, strongly support Mamdani and his stance on ending the genocide in Gaza. Moreover, Mamdani’s policies aim to address anti-Semitism in a very effective way, especially his plan to increase funding for hate crime enforcement by over 800%. If that’s not concrete enough for Goldman, then perhaps nothing will be.

• He relocated his office to a private mall: District offices are vital resources that members of Congress provide for their constituents. Their staffers ensure that the district’s voices are heard and that essential services are provided to those in need. As a former congressional intern myself, I can say firsthand that the work congressional caseworkers in district offices do is beyond essential, and these offices must be accessible. District staff process casework on issues affecting vulnerable constituents, including immigration, taxation, and federal benefits. According to NY-10 Neighbors, a grassroots organization that has worked to raise awareness about Goldman’s misdeeds, Goldman relocated his Brooklyn district office in a way that harms his constituents and decreases access to the services his office provides. Goldman’s office used to be located at a prominent streetfront location with a large awning displaying his name. It was relocated to a space within a private mall in Industry City in January of 2025. A pin-coded door protects his new digs. This speaks volumes about how Goldman views his constituents.

• His Suspicious Stock Trading: One of the most shameful aspects of American law is the lack of regulations prohibiting members of Congress from trading individual stocks. The lack of rules on Congressional stock trading is inherently problematic because members of Congress are exposed to privileged information that the average American doesn’t have, and they can, and often do, use this information to boost their personal financial interests. Daniel Goldman is no exception. Goldman pledged to place his assets in a blind trust while campaigning in 2022. However, he then turned around and made over 500 trades, all within his first few months on the Hill. Some of these trades were suspiciously well-timed, such as his sale of $15,000 of Credit Suisse stock just before the Senate Finance Committee revealed that the Swiss banking giant was violating a plea deal with US prosecutors. If Goldman wants to trade stocks so much, he should get a job on Wall Street. NY-10 deserves someone who uses their seat in Congress to drive progress, not personal profits.

Last evening, Donald Trump Jr tweeted: “Thank you Congressman @danielsgoldman for your kind words today when you saw me, about the incredible job my father did delivering historic peace to the Middle East and bringing the hostages home. Safe travels back from the Bahamas.” It’s one thing that Goldman is visiting the sunny Bahamas while his constituents endure MAGA’s Epstein shutdown. But his mingling with Don Jr on the beach took it to a whole new level. It was infuriating enough for me to edit this article to add it in, and it’s further proof that Daniel Goldman is about as bad as they come when it comes to politics. It stinks of the same selfishness of Ted Cruz infamously jetting off to Cancun while his constituents in Texas suffered in a snowstorm.

Thankfully, the midterm elections are soon upon us, and in June 2026, NY-10’s constituents will vote in the Democratic primary. NY-10 voters have a golden opportunity to oust Daniel Goldman and elect a progressive politician who actually stands for change. Groups like Dump Dan Goldman and NY-10 Neighbors are already doing on-the-ground work to spread the word about how detrimental Goldman has been to the district during his time in Congress. Hopefully, behind-the-scenes discussions can yield a singular viable primary challenger to avoid splitting the progressive vote again. In all, stay tuned for the 2026 midterms, organize like hell, and let’s make Daniel Goldman a private citizen again.